This invention relates generally to connector systems and more particularly to a connector system having male and mating female terminals with the female terminal contained in a housing which has a portion thereof extending beyond the opening of the contained female terminal to minimize accidental contact with the female terminal by external means when not connected to the mating male terminal.
In certain connectors the female terminals are enclosed in an insulative housing which is open at one end to receive a male terminal which mates with the female terminal. The depth of insertion of the male terminal into the female terminal is determined by shoulders formed on the male terminal, which shoulders are wide enough to span oppositely positioned walls at the open end of the housing and consequently will come to rest upon the open end of said housing when fully inserted in the female receptacle.
One safety limitation imposed by the Underwriters Laboratories upon certain connectors of the general type described above is that the degree of accessibility of the female terminal to a probe of a certain size and configuration, when the female terminal is not mated to the male terminal, be limited. Specifically, in order to meet UL standards, such a probe, when moved about within the open end of the housing, should not make contact with the female terminal contained therein. Prior art connectors of the type described generally above and comprising a housing with a female terminal contained therein and an opening for receiving a mating terminal, often do not meet such UL safety standards.
It has not proven to be a satisfactory answer to the problem of meeting UL standards by simply extending the housing beyond the open end of the female terminal a sufficient distance to meet the probe requirements since the portion of the male terminal which mates with the female terminal has standard lengths measured from the shoulders thereof. Such an extension of the housing walls merely results in insufficient insertion of the male terminal. On the other hand, if the housing wall is not extended sufficiently beyond the open end of the female terminal, then UL probe requirements are not met.